Guo Jiahao, Zhang Zhejia, Zhao Haoxiang, Li Guowen
When it comes to France, everyone thinks of the country's strength during World War I, its cowardice during World War II, and then the fragile Maginot Line. However, most people are drawn to the poor performance of France during World War II, and ignore the SOMUA-S35 tank (hereinafter referred to as the S35 tank), which was designed by France, which was hailed as the "best medium tank of the thirties". Since the S35 tank is hailed as the best of the thirties, what are its advantages? What are its problems, and why did it perform so badly in the hands of France during World War II?
1. Go back in time – the birth of the S35
AMC 35
Talking about the birth of the S35, the first thing we should mention is the French AMC34 and AMC35 tanks. In the mid-30s, the French Army began to receive Renault AMC34 and AMC35 tanks, but the French Army was not satisfied with the performance of these two types of tanks. The French army's top brass believes that its short range and thin armor are not suitable for the form of the battlefield, which affects the strength of the army. Of course, it is not that the French Army is too picky, and both the AMC34 and AMC35 are indeed unsatisfactory in terms of reliability, their cheap chassis is not strong enough, their performance is extremely unstable in the harsh combat environment, and they have failed to achieve outstanding results in actual combat.
Based on this situation, the French Army issued a new order to SOMUA in 1934. After SOUMA accepted the order, a prototype of the AC3 was designed in April 1935 on the basis of the AMC3 tank. After secondary tests, in July of the same year, the AC4 type tank was launched, which received the designation AMC 1935 S. Although it was officially named AMC 1935 S, this tank was historically uniformly known as SOMUA-S35.
SOMUA-S35
Overall, the S35 tank was born to meet the requirements of the French Army in terms of range, defense and mobility, and its birth was not very ingenious, but this did not affect its position at the time, nor did it weaken its influence on modern tanks
2. Down to the bottom – the S35 was the best in the thirties
The S35 tank is 5.38 meters long, 2.12 meters wide, 2.62 meters high and weighs 19.5 tons. IN TERMS OF POWER, IT IS EQUIPPED WITH A SOUMA V8 THAT CAN PRODUCE 190 HP, WHICH IS USED IN A 19.5-TON TANK AND ACHIEVES A POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO OF 9.7 HP/TONNE. With the help of a high-horsepower engine, the S35 can achieve a maximum road speed of 40.7 kilometers per hour and a maximum off-road speed of 32.2 kilometers per hour, which is rare for a tank at the time. Combined with a fuel reserve of 510 litres, it had a maximum road range of 230 km and a maximum off-road range of 130 km, and the maneuverability and range were excellent in the conditions of the time. In order to protect the infantry behind the tank, its exhaust pipe is designed to be curved, which provides a relatively comfortable combat environment for the infantry behind it under the premise of easy exhaust.
In terms of protection, the front of the tank was equipped with armor up to 56 mm thick and sloped, with 40 mm of side armor, 20 mm of top armor and 42 mm of armor in the front of the turret. This heavy cast armor made the S35 superior in terms of defense compared to other riveted or welded tanks of the same period. Its armor is stronger and less likely to break, but at the same time, it naturally increases the cost of fabrication and repair.
APX 1 CE 铸造炮塔
In terms of fire output, the tank is equipped with an APX 1 CE cast turret, and the main armament is a 47 mm caliber gun, carrying 90 armor-piercing shells and 28 high-explosive shells. This main gun could achieve long-range shooting of 1000 meters, and could penetrate almost all models of main battle tanks of the German army at that time. The secondary armament is a 7.5 mm Mitrailleuse mle 1931 coaxial machine gun armed with 2250 rounds. The S35's powerful cast turret allowed it to stand tall against the main guns of all German tanks, and a machine gun carrying 2,250 rounds of ammunition added to its powerful firepower output, which was at the top of its class at the time.
The S35 tank is equipped with elite droppers and inclined armor, with good mobility, strong firepower and armor protection, its overall combat level is better than the German No. 3 tank in the era of its inception, and it is considered by the Germans to be a tank equipped with 37mm AT anti-tank gun groups that are difficult to overcome.
Overall, the S35 was one of the most advanced tanks designed at the time.
3. Valuing Reality – S35's Flaws and Performance
Overall, the S35 was a very good tank for its time, but it still had some flaws, and various factors caused it to not perform as well as expected.
First of all, there is the price at which it is manufactured. French industry could not support large-scale armor manufacturing, from the time it was designed to the end of France, a total of less than 500 were built, and only 246 tanks were equipped on the front line, almost half of the tanks were parked in warehouses and captured by the Germans before they were put into use. Its armor is cast, which makes it large in parts, increasing its manufacturing and maintenance costs. Due to the large number of parts, it is very inconvenient for the S35 tank to be repaired on the battlefield, and the repair speed cannot keep up with the damage speed, which also leads to the shortening of the service life of the tank.
Secondly, there is the problem of the tank's fuel tank. The tank can store a total of 510 litres of fuel, but its storage equipment consists of a large 400-litre tank and a 100-litre small tank, which are connected by valves, with the large tank supplementing the small tank and the small tank supplying energy. However, some soldiers were not familiar with the actual structure of the tank, so they only replenished the small fuel tank of 100 liters when refueling, which also led to the actual endurance of the tank being much lower than the design level.
S35 double-layer construction
In addition, the S35 adopts a double-layer structure between the body and the chassis, and the body and chassis are designed separately and connected together by bolts. And this structure also leads to the instability between its body and chassis, which is easy to cause damage at the joint. The Germans, having tested a trophy tank, wrote on their proving ground: "The bolting of the tank casing is a weak point in the design, if the shell hits the seam of the top and bottom, it will crack like a nut".
Finally, there is the problem of the "tired commander" that has always been a tradition of French tanks. The S35 tank accommodated a total of three people, namely the commander, the radio operator and the driver. The radio operator and driver are both single tasks, but the commander has to complete the ammunition loading, aiming and firing of the main gun and machine gun while commanding the whole vehicle, which undoubtedly slows down the attack frequency of the tank significantly, and the main gun and machine gun cannot fire at the same time, which weakens the combat capability of the tank to a certain extent.
However, despite all the shortcomings of the S35 tank, its combat capabilities at that time were significantly superior to those of the German and Soviet tanks. In the Battle of France, the S35 gained the upper hand in a separate confrontation with German tanks.
Analyzing its actual combat performance, some people may ask: France has such a powerful tank, why did it still suffer the loss of the country? In fact, this problem cannot be blamed on the S35 tank. It should be clear to everyone that the level of weapons is only one of the important factors in war, and the decisive factor lies in people.
The main reason for the poor performance of the S35 tank in the hands of the French army was the problem with the command thinking of the French commanders at that time. In the First World War, faced with massive losses and casualties, the yearning for peace among all classes of French society reached its peak. The commanders at that time were influenced by the need for peace in French society and focused on defensive warfare. Allowing the German army to invade other countries and standing still, blindly adopting a passive defense strategy, this combat method of always defending, could not give full play to the full combat capability of the S35.
The French Army's application of the S35 tank did not show its true capabilities. In 1940, after the fall of France to the Germans, the Germans accepted all French tanks and used S35 tanks for various tasks, some of which also participated in the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which the Germans named the 35C739(f) tank, and converted some of them into armored command vehicles, and a small number of them were transferred to Italy. And in the hands of the Germans, the S35 tank had quite good results.
So, judging from the actual performance, although it is slightly ironic, the German army did bring its combat capabilities into play. It's not that this tank is not good enough, it's just that it was buried by the French way of fighting.
Domestic King of Land Warfare 99A tank
Back to modern times, with the continuous development of military science and technology, new combat methods such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) warfare have emerged, and some people will feel that the role of tanks is decreasing, but in fact, tanks are still an indispensable and important weapon in land warfare. However, the outcome of a war is not only determined by the quality of the weapon, but also by many other factors.
First, fighters should have an in-depth understanding of weapons and equipment. Drawing lessons from the French army during World War II and having an in-depth understanding of one's own weapons and equipment is not only reflected in the skillful use of weapons, but also in being familiar with the structure of weapons and striving to maximize the combat capability of the equipment.
Second, commanders should improve their command capabilities. A good commander needs to have the foresight to be able to rise above the current dilemmas and challenges, maintain a cool head and clear thinking, accurately grasp the battlefield situation, avoid strategic mistakes caused by blind actions, and ensure the victory of the troops and minimize losses.
Third, it is necessary to pay attention to coordinated operations among different branches of the armed forces. The current war is no longer a single battle of a certain branch of the army, but a close cooperation between different arms. It is only through effective coordination and cooperation that the advantages of different arms of the armed forces can be brought into full play and the battle situation can be better controlled and victorious. Therefore, the armed forces should step up cross-service joint exercises and training, cultivate excellent cooperative combat capabilities, and enhance overall combat effectiveness.
The S35 tank was an advanced tank at the beginning of World War II, and in terms of performance, it deserved the title of "the best medium tank of the thirties". However, due to the strategic mistake of the French army in the use of tanks, the S35 tanks are useless no matter how many they are and how strong their performance is. From this point of view, the victory of the war is not only related to the equipment, but also requires the soldiers' proficiency in the operation of weapons and equipment, and more importantly, the commander's control of the battlefield situation and the corresponding strategic deployment. These things will affect the success or failure of the war, and the reason cannot be found only in the weapon.